


Getting Steamy

by zach_stone



Category: Until Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Mutual Pining, Pre-Canon, honestly who knows what this is
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-10
Updated: 2015-10-10
Packaged: 2018-04-25 17:56:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,665
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4970731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zach_stone/pseuds/zach_stone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“So how long do you think they’re gonna keep this up?” <br/>“Ugh, if it was Josh’s idea, who knows,” Ashley says. “What’s their endgame, anyway?”<br/>Chris thinks he has an inkling, but there’s no way he’s going to bring up what Josh refers to as their “burning sexual tension” when he’s naked.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Also known as: Josh has had some pretty weird ways of forcing Chris and Ashley together, but Chris thinks this might just be the weirdest yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Getting Steamy

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly I have no idea where this situation came from, it popped into my head last night of its own accord. Also, I can't stop writing Until Dawn fics. It's becoming a problem.

The ocean crashes against the beach in the pink light of sunset as ten friends trek back up the sand to Emily’s beach house. If winters at Mt. Washington were about expansive, almost isolating rooms and the walled-in feeling of mountains, Emily’s family’s beach house could not be more different. It’s decently sized, but far too small for ten teenagers to really fit comfortably. Still, it’s literally right on the ocean, and they spend almost all day outside anyway when they’re here. Emily unlocks the door and leads the way in, towel around her shoulders. She glances back as her friends come inside, shooting Josh a glare when he almost forgets to wipe the sand off his feet first.

“Dibs on the shower!” Chris shouts suddenly, eliciting groans from everyone else. There’s only one shower in the beach house, and it’s a nightly battle to see who gets to wash the sand and saltwater off first.

“Haven’t you ever heard of ‘ladies first’?” Jess says with a huff. Chris shrugs.

“I guess chivalry is dead,” he says. “Look, I’ve got sand in places I didn’t even know existed. Shower’s mine.”

“Ugh, whatever, just go already so the rest of us can bathe sometime this century,” Emily snaps. “And you better not use up all the hot water!” she calls after him as he walks down the hall. He lifts his arm in the air, giving her a thumbs up as he enters the bathroom.

It’s a really nice bathroom, if a little small. And the shower, holy shit -- when the hot spray hits him, Chris instantly feels his muscles relax. He closes his eyes as the steam fills the bathroom, not even bothering to grab the soap yet. He’s so absorbed in the moment that when someone knocks on the door he flinches and almost falls right on his ass in the tub.

“What?” he shouts, steadying himself against the shower wall.

“Chris?” Ashley’s voice floats through the door. “Um, I’m really sorry, but I have to go to the bathroom.”

“Um…” Chris says, reluctant to leave the shower just yet. Besides, he hasn’t even washed up. “Can you wait like two minutes?”

“I _really_ need to go,” she whines. “I’ll be super fast, just… can I come in, please?”

Chris sighs. “I guess.”

He hears the door open and can see her silhouette appear through the shower curtain. “Jeez louise, Chris, it’s steamy in here,” she says, fanning a hand in front of her face. “Didn’t Emily tell you _not_ to use up all the hot water?”

“I thought you had to pee,” Chris says. He’s suddenly _very_ aware of the fact that the only thing separating Ashley from his naked body is a shower curtain, and he moves to the far corner of the tub just in case.

“Sorry,” Ashley says, and he sees her come forward, to where the toilet sits right next to the shower. She pauses. “Don’t listen to me pee,” she says, poking a finger at the shower curtain.

“I’m not!” he says. “But it’s not like I’ve got earplugs in here.”

“Just… sing to yourself or something,” she says. He closes his eyes and starts singing the Pokemon theme song, earning a huff of laughter from Ashley. After a moment (during which time he gets way too into the song, admittedly), she says, in a somewhat distressed voice, “Chris?”

“What?”

“Okay, don’t hate me.”

He frowns. “What is it?” he says warily.

“Uh, there’s no toilet paper,” Ashley says.

“What?! Why didn’t you check that before you sat down?”

“Because I assumed there would be toilet paper!” Ashley exclaims.

Chris runs a hand through his wet hair nervously, all too aware of the fact that Ashley is sitting literally inches away on the other side of the curtain. “What, uh, what are you gonna do?” he asks.

“I don’t know, I guess I could text someone and ask them to bring me some?” Ashley says.

“Great. I love when my showers become little bathroom get-togethers,” Chris says.

“Well what else am I supposed to do, Chris?” she says, annoyed. “You got any better ideas?”

“No,” he says sheepishly. He listens to her fingers tapping on her phone for a moment. Then an awkward silence settles over them. Chris feels pretty vulnerable, and it’s honestly embarrassing how he’s equal parts self-conscious and aroused by the situation. _Get a grip_ , he thinks to himself.

“Em says she’ll bring some in,” Ashley tells him, sounding relieved.

“Cool,” he says, hoping she can’t hear that his voice is a little higher than usual.

There’s a tap on the door and Ashley says, “Just like, open the door a little bit and toss it in here!”

“Oh I don’t know about that,” Josh’s voice comes through the other side of the door, and Chris can practically hear the smirk on his face. “I mean, this is a unique and frankly hilarious situation going on right now.”

“Josh,” Ashley says, sounding both annoyed and frantic.

“I mean, it must be getting pretty _steamy_ in there…”

“Give me the freaking toilet paper.”

“Okay, okay, don’t get your panties in a bunch, Ash,” Josh says. “Oh, wait, so sorry, Sam needs to talk to me right now, I’ll be back.” He chuckles, and they can hear the rest of their friends laughing, too. Ashley lets out a groan.

“Josh, you’re a jerk!” she calls out.

“Our friends are kind of the worst,” Chris says unhelpfully.

“This is so stupid!” Ashley grumbles. “Why do they want to keep us trapped in the bathroom together when I’m sitting on the toilet?!”

“Yeah, as much as I enjoy long showers, I’m gettin’ kind of pruny in here,” Chris says. After a moment’s hesitation, he turns off the shower.

“What are you doing? Don’t come out!” Ashley squeaks.

“Relax, I’m staying in here,” he says. Without the water on, he feels more exposed than ever. He crosses his arms, not that Ashley can see him. “So how long do you think they’re gonna keep this up?”

“Ugh, if it was Josh’s idea, who knows,” she says. “What’s their endgame, anyway?”

Chris thinks he has an inkling, but there’s no way he’s going to bring up what Josh refers to as their “burning sexual tension” when he’s naked. “Maybe they’re hoping I’ll accidentally flash you.”

“Oh my gosh,” she says, sounding embarrassed. “Well, don’t.”

“I wasn’t planning on it,” he says. More awkward silence.

“Wait, what if we give them what they want?” Ashley says.

“Excuse me?” Chris says, voice cracking.

“I mean, not _actually_ , but make them think so,” she continues. “Just follow my lead, okay?” Before he can respond, she says in a loud, fairly convincingly scandalized voice, “Oh my gosh, Chris, put a towel on!”

Chris snorts. “Holy shit, Ash, don’t look at my dick!” he says, sounding far less convincing.

There’s a shuffling sound outside the door and Chris can only assume Josh has his face pressed up against it. “What’s going on in there?” he says.

“Give me the damn toilet paper and maybe I’ll tell you,” Ashley says.

“Is Chris showing you his manhood?” Josh teases.

“Yep, we’re totally doing it right now,” Ashley says dryly. Chris’s face goes pink. “Can you please stop being a jerk?”

The door clicks and a roll of toilet paper goes flying across the room, smacking the shower curtain and causing Chris to jump back, nearly falling again. Ashley yelps in surprise, but the door is already closed again, Josh snickering on the other side.

After another moment, Chris hears the toilet flush, and he sags a little in relief when he sees Ashley’s silhouette stand up. She washes her hands and then pauses at the door.

“Next time I’m peeing in a freaking bush,” she says, and he laughs. Then she leaves. Chris takes a minute to breathe, then grabs a towel and dries off, though he’s already mostly dry from just standing there for so long. He tugs on his shirt and shorts and heads out of the bathroom. Josh is waiting for him in the hall, looking smug.

“So,” he says, grinning. “Ashley got a peek, huh?”

“What?” Chris says. “Dude, no. We were just fucking with you so you’d give her the toilet paper.”

Josh’s face falls. “Aw, what? Seriously?”

“You really think I’d just step out of the shower, butt-naked, when Ashley is right there? Are you high?”

Josh shakes his head. “I can’t believe I got played. You’re not even a good actor!”

“And so the prankster becomes the pranked,” Chris says wisely. Josh punches him in the arm. The two of them rejoin the rest of the group, and Jess flounces into the bathroom.

“Ugh, Chris, you totally used up all the hot water!” she whines.

“Maybe if I hadn’t been held hostage in the bathroom, that wouldn’t have happened,” he says pointedly. Josh cackles.

Later, when everyone is heading to bed, Chris bumps into Ashley on his way to the living room, arms full of blankets.

“Oops, sorry,” she says, stepping out of his way. He hesitates.

“Hey, Ash?” he says. “About earlier. You didn’t really see anything, right?”

She turns red. “No! You were totally covered. I mean, I saw your outline or whatever, but I didn’t see, you know.”

Chris is red now, too. “Okay. Yeah. Cool. Just checking.”

“Why would Josh want me to see you naked, anyway?” she says, looking anywhere but at Chris.

“Hah, yeah, totally stupid,” Chris says. He shifts the blankets in his arms. “Well, uh, I’m gonna set up my bed, I guess. Goodnight, Ash. It was fun being bathroom prisoners together.”

She rolls her eyes. “Goodnight, Chris.”

They head their separate ways, and as Chris throws his blankets on the couch, he wonders with vague trepidation (and okay, some excitement, he’s only human) what other bizarre schemes Josh is going to come up with to get him and Ashley together this time.

 


End file.
